Burning Low
by Fish Momma
Summary: Esmé García has begun her first Pokemon journey! But early on, it develops into an adventure she would have never imagined. She doesn't recall playing detective and stopping the evil organization, Team Rocket, from taking over the world being on her list of things to do - but now it's a priority! Just how is a ten year old girl suppose to stop this madness? (T to be safe)
1. The Laboratory

**Thank you for reading my Pokemon Fanfiction! I hope you enjoy! R&R! :)**

**Next chapter will be out next week! ;)**

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><p>Esmé squealed with excitement and squirmed out of her bed sheets. She stretched her arms and legs and changed out of her nightgown hastily, before following the delicious smell of food, wafting in from downstairs. She descended the staircase in silence, and tiptoed towards the kitchen. Peering around the corner she saw her dad in his apron, cutting up fruit while beside him, their waffle cooker was on, with a small tray of bacon nearby. Esmé smiled mischievously and crept closer, once she was right behind him, she grabbed the apron's knot and gave it a hard tug, yelling "Boo!"<p>

Her father feigned a cry of fear, before laughing and turning around to scoop his daughter into his arms, giving her a hug.

"Were you scared, dad?" she asked, though she knew the answer.

"Oh, yeah, I was terrified!" Her dad joked. His daughter did this so often that he was immune to it by now, but they liked to play this way. He released her, and frowned slightly as he glanced at her, "Honey, are you sure that's what you want to wear?"

Esmé glanced down at her mishmash of clothes, then looked back up with confidence, "Yeah, I'm sure!" she beamed.

"Well, alrighty then, if you're sure." He ruffled her hair, then kneeled in front of her and adjusted some of her attire, "But you should at least wear them neatly." He grinned when she mumble something about it 'looking cooler that way'. He finished and returned to the counter to fix their plates, "Okay, breakfast is ready, sit down, please." Esmé cheered and did as she was told, chanting 'waffles' as she bounced in her seat impatiently. Her dad walked over, setting down her food, and joining her at the table. "One order of waffles, with bananas, drizzled with chocolate, and topped with whipped cream, with strawberries and bacon on the side!" he pretended to be a butler with an upper-crust accent.

"Yes!" Esmé pumped her fist, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, digging into her meal.

The two talked as they ate; mostly about precautions Esmé's dad wanted to make sure she understood, like being wary of strangers, being careful with her Pokémon's health, and to not go into the woods or tall grasses unless they were fully healed. They also discussed what kinds of Pokémon Esmé was excited to see, and what types she hoped to befriend and train. He helped calm her nerves when he noticed that she was attempting to hide her tenseness at the idea of battling gym leaders. He told her that all she had to do was her best, and if she did lose, to not lose her confidence, to keep on trying.

Esmé smiled and thanked her father, before changing the subject, "Hey, dad, what are you going to do when I'm gone?" her interest was piqued.

Her father paused for a moment and then released a small sigh, saying in a low voice, "I'm not exactly sure. I'll still be taking care of the Pokémon, and cleaning the house, and running errands, but…" he trailed off.

Esmé felt a pang of guilt for her inquiry, and decided to drop it, instead she stood up and stated, "Oh, wow, it's almost nine! I gotta go!"

Her dad gathered and cleaned the dishes, while Esmé put on her shoes and placed her supplies into her backpack. She however kept her iCom in her pocket, planning on listening to music as she walked over to the laboratory. Her father met her at the front door.

"Ready?" he asked, filled with mixed emotions.

"Always!" Esmé exclaimed with a thumbs up.

"Alright!" her dad lightly slapped her back, and cheered "Go get 'em, Arcanine!" as his daughter waved and continued onwards.

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><p>Esmé waited for her song to finish, before knocking on the lab's door. She heard a muffled voice answer: "Just a minute!" it shouted. True to the person's word, the door was opened shortly afterwards. "Ah! Esmé, it's good to see you! Come in, come in!" the man said whole-heartedly.<p>

The girl bowed her head briefly in the man's direction, "Thank you, Professor Oak!" she replied happily, stepping into the building.

Esmé had seen the laboratory many times when she went out with her dad, but she had never been inside. The foyer was small, with a wooden floor and a closet, but then it lead into a much larger room. It was tiled with aluminum, and contained several strange machines. The far back walls were mostly window panes, with a sliding door that lead out into a grassy field, in the middle of the room was a table, and to the far left here was both an up and downstairs. The entire place smelled like cleaning chemicals and pokéchow, the reflected sunlight bounced off the machinery and made the room glow a pale white-blue, giving it a very futuristic-like appeal.

"Sorry, but I didn't expect you to be here so early, the Pokémon are still being held downstairs. Please excuse me." Professor Oak apologized politely. He vanished into the stairwell, leaving Esmé alone.

She went over to the table and took a seat in one of the metal chairs. With nothing else to do, she pulled out her iCom and listened to her music. The soft, yet somewhat gloomy song played, and Esmé began to think. She thought of the Pokémon she wanted to choose, and the Pokémon she would meet, and of the Pokémon in the world, and of the world itself. And how her mother was rarely home, but yet her dad was always home, and how he always looked after her and their pets. How sad would dad be when she left? Would he be sad? Would her mom be proud of her? Is her mom even proud of her? She never really stayed long enough to where she could tell whether she was or not. Would she even see her mom? Eventually, yes, but by then would she be considered a failure? There was so much to do until they met again, starting from here. There's a lot of pressure you add into your life when you become a trainer…Would her partner like her? Could she be the trainer it needed? How would her battles go? The idea of battling made her both giddy and nervous, it made her stomach do flip-flops, her palms feel sweaty, and her head spin. Arceus, what if she let her Pokémon down? She didn't want to fail them – heavy footsteps knocked her out of her thoughts. She tugged her earbud out and returned her iCom to her pocket as Professor Oak returned from downstairs, three Pokémon trailing behind him.

"Careful now!" the Professor chuckled as the starter Pokémon wandered around the room. They didn't pay much attention to Esmé, but she didn't mind, she didn't feel like being in a hurry so much, anymore.

"So, would it be okay if I just watch them for a while?" Esmé asked with melancholy curiousness.

"Certainly! Just remember that the other trainers are coming soon." Professor Oak stated merrily. Esmé gave a small smiled and nodded, before watching the Pokémon again.

The blue one with a shell, Squirtle, she recalled, was busy making faces at itself in the window's reflections, like it was convinced that the Pokémon that replicated its movements was real. Meanwhile, the one with the green bulb on its back, Bulbasaur, which was an apt name, she thought, was using its vines to poke and prod at the machines, luckily the Professor kept it from pushing any buttons. Finally, the reptilian-like one, Charmander, was standing behind the staircase railing, staring at her intently.

_"You know I can see you, right?"_ Esmé thought it was cute. She smiled and waved at the little guy, but it tried to hide more. She resisted the urge to frown, in case that would make things worse. "Hey, um, Professor?" she caught the man's attention away from playing with Bulbasaur's vines. "Is that Charmander okay? It doesn't want to come over here."

Professor Oak looked over and then sighed, "He's just nervous. Ever since hatching, he's shied away from others. Sadly, in the end they just ignore him, not because they want to be mean, of course, but every time they've tried to befriend Charmander, it just ended up with him hiding somewhere, or retreating back into his pokéball.- Hey you stop that!" Professor Oak said sternly as he guided Bulbasaur's vine away from a keyboard.

_"That's so sad."_ Esmé thought, glancing back at the Pokémon, "Do you know why he does that?" she inquired.

The Pokémon Professor finally dissuaded Bulbasaur away from his machinery, and now it was playing with Squirtle. He came over to the table himself and took a seat. "Honestly," he began, a bit sheepish, "I'm not entirely sure. But I believe it has to do with a lack of confidence."

"Lack of confidence, huh?" Esmé mumbled to herself. She surveyed Charmander once more, it was still behind the pole, staring at the two of them. She noticed something in his gaze. _"Is that…loneliness?" _Esmé was surprised, but not entirely. It made sense for the loner Pokémon to feel, well, alone. And she admitted, it was a feeling that she also had become familiar with.

With a sudden burst of energy, Esmé rose from her chair, her fist raised in determination. "I've made my decision, Professor Oak! I choose Charmander to be my starter!"

The Professor smiled, with an almost knowing glint in his eyes, but asked anyways "Are you sure, Esmé?" he raised an eyebrow.

Esmé nodded, "I'm positive!" she reassured.

"Well, then," Professor Oak pulled out a pokéball and a pokédex from his trench coat, "these are for you; a pokédex, and your Charmander's pokéball. I must say, I'm surprised you decided so quickly."

Esmé grabbed the items, attaching the pokéball to her belt, and putting the pokédex in her other pocket. "Well, once you told me about him, I knew there was no way that I could say 'No'!" she grinned, "Besides, I think he'll be a great partner!" she said, approaching her Pokémon.

Charmander shrunk in on himself as Esmé got closer, but didn't run away. His new trainer kneeled down on her knees in front of him, bringing herself to his level. "Hey, buddy!" she said, her previously upbeat tone was now soft, but it still had a happy ring to it, almost like a bell, "I would really like for you to join me on my journey! I think we could be a great team! What do you say?" she held out her hand. The fire Pokémon paused, contemplating the offer. At first, Esmé was afraid that he was going to decline, but then with a feather-light touch, he grabbed her finger, letting out a quiet "Char!" Esmé thanked him, smiling, and picked him up. He tensed in her arms, but otherwise didn't make a fuss.

Professor Oak gave Esmé some instruction concerning her pokédex and a few other things, and wished her good luck, and with that, she left the laboratory. She needed to stop by her home one more time, to say goodbye to her father, and then she would have to leave on her adventure. A thought popped into her head and she looked down at her Pokémon, "Hey, do you like music?" she inquired. The puzzled look told her all she needed to know, "Well, well, then I have a treat for you!" Esmé giggled and pulled out her iCom.


	2. From the Author

**I am temporarily going on hiatus so that I can learn more about writing. **

**If you are curious as to what I am doing, I'm reading The Writers Handbook (you can find it on Google)**

**Thank you for reading! I will be updating as soon as I can. :)**


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